U.S. Offshore Wind Industry Has Electrifying Future – CleanTechnica

Offshore wind holds great promise as a source of clean, domestic, renewable energy that can meet the needs of communities along the nations coastlines. And according to the Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) the U.S. offshore wind industry made gale-force gains in 2020 and early 2021. The offshore wind pipeline grew 24% in that time period, with 35,324 megawatts (MW) now in various stages of development.

And that is not all. Increased industry interest, combined with theBiden administrations goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2030, may propel the offshore wind energy industry to greater heights in the coming years.

Released on Aug. 30, 2021,the report highlighted that:

This report shows that the offshore wind market is on an upward curve, both nationally and globally, said Walt Musial, an NREL principal engineer and the lead report author. Maturing technology and falling costs have driven that curve for several years, and today, were seeing a continuation of those trends. Here, in the United States, federal and state support are also adding momentum.

NREL and DOE began working in offshore wind energy research in 2003 to address the growing interest in offshore wind power technology and innovation, both domestically and in Europe. Since then,NRELs work in offshore wind energyhas included:

Looking to the future, we expect offshore wind energy in the United States to expand beyond the North and Mid-Atlantic into the Pacific, Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico, Musial said. That expansion means abundant energy at lower costs, job growth, and progress toward decarbonization. NREL will continue to leverage its expertise, world-class facilities, and industry, research, and commercial partnerships to help the United States lead the charge forward.

TheOffshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Editionprovides detailed information about the U.S. and global offshore wind energy industries to inform policymakers, researchers, and analysts about technology and market trends. The report covers the status of more than 200 globally operating offshore wind projects through Dec. 31, 2020, and provides details and analysis on a broader global pipeline of projects in various stages of development. To deliver the most up-to-date discussion about this evolving industry, the report also provides a deeper assessment of domestic offshore wind energy developments and events through May 31, 2021.

The report is a companion to theLand-Based Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOEs Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and theDistributed Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOEs Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These three reportsoffer unbiased, independent, public reporting of the current state of the wind energy industry and provide insight into multiyear trends.

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Full Report

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Executive Summary

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Summary Slides

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition Data

Article courtesy of NREL.

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U.S. Offshore Wind Industry Has Electrifying Future - CleanTechnica